The US Is Hosting A Giant Military Yard Sale In Afghanistan

It is a January sale with a difference. The American military is
auctioning off millions of pounds of tankers, accommodation
blocks, tents, generators and other “white goods” in Afghanistanahead of
next year’s deadline for the end of combat operations.

In a tender document published on Friday, buyers are invited to
offer a percentage of the equipment’s original value by January
10 when sealed bids will be opened.

There is just one snag. According to the brochure, “all property
listed therein is offered for sale ‘as is’ and ‘where is’,” which
means successful bidders will have to collect their lots from
some of the most dangerous terrain in the world, the forward
operating bases used by US troops as they battled the Taliban.

The equipment includes everything necessary to keep a military
camp running. That means water and sewage systems, laundry and
kitchen facilities – from giant cooking ranges to water
purification systems - as well as fortifications and barriers.

Once a deal is done, the new owners will have just 96 hours to
collect the kit from wherever it might be, whether Bagram air
base outside Kabul or one of the dozens of remote forward
operating base close to Taliban territory.

Possible buyers include the private contractors who are picking
up business as foreign forces leave, providing security,
logistics support and training to charities, embassies and the
Afghan government. Or the bases could be dissembled and their
component parts sold off for civilian uses.

Buyers will need deep pockets to bid for lots that originally
cost up to £15m (although all major credit cards are accepted).

The sales even include “non-tactical vehicles”. Unfortunately for
Taliban commanders with an eye on a bargain, the documents make
clear that term excludes “launchers and tanks”.

Weapons and other reusable kit are being shipped back home in a
huge operation that logisticians call a “retrograde”. It includes
bringing back as many as 40,000 shipping containers of equipment,
worth an estimated £20billion.

At a recent press briefing, Chuck Hagel, US defence secretary,
said the drawdown was ahead of schedule despite the closure of
the main route out via Pakistan’s north-west.

“We got a long way to go, a lot of troops to move out yet, a lot
of equipment to move out yet,” he said. “But this is an issue
that is as high on the priority list as any that we all have.”

At least 400 bases have already been closed or handed to local
troops as foreign forces leave. Earlier this year, Afghan troops
took over responsibility for security across the whole country

Some 45,000 American troops are still in Afghanistan – along with
more than 25,000 from other coalition countries - 12 years after
the Taliban was ousted from power.